GUANGZHOU, which has been ground zero for outbreaks including Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and bird flu, is now on guard against Ebola, a disease more frightening than either of those.

The city has instituted precautionary measures to protect it against the spread of the deadly Ebola virus, China Daily said Friday.

As the virus, which can kill as many as 90 percent of those it infects, has shown signs of spreading to Nigeria from Sierra Leone and Guinea, it is reasonable for Guangzhou to be on alert, given the fact that the city has a large population of African expats, many of them traders from Nigeria and other West African countries who’ve set up shops in a bustling market zone.

“We have dispatched more personnel to various positions. We have strengthened monitoring for those who may have a high fever,” China Daily quoted Chen Yanling, an official with Guangzhou’s Baiyun Airport, as saying.

Machines have been set up at the airport to test incoming passengers’ temperatures, with anyone registering above 37.5 degrees Celsius being made to undergo a blood test. “We’ve already pulled people aside with high fevers, but so far none of them have tested positive for the Ebola virus,” Chen said.

It’s difficult to pinpoint the number of African expats in Guangzhou because so many are transitory. Estimates span the range from 10,000 to 200,000. According to China Daily, more than 1,000 travelers arrive from Africa at the Baiyun aiport every day.

Despite such fears, the World Health Organization said Friday that China did not need to be overly concerned about the disease.

Xinhua News Agency on Friday quoted WHO spokesman Paul Garwood as saying the outbreak had been limited to West Africa. “There is no need for Ebola panic in China,” he said, according to Xinhua.

While there are scant signs that anyone in Guangzhou is in a panic, the city is especially sensitive to disease outbreaks, particularly since 2002, when the SARS epidemic began in nearby Foshan. (SD-Agencies)